Good food is at the centre of every great getaway. Both flavours and textures of food cooked in a camp oven only get better; bold, full-bodied, and robust. With some campfire finesse and camp oven flair, even the simplest meals simply come alive.
Don’t expect to master it on your first go – but with a bit of practice, you’ll get the hang of it, and the reward is a delicious, mouthwatering meal every time.
In this guide, we talk you through the entire camp oven cooking process: from preparing your oven to heating it to the most ideal temperature. We’ll discuss different cooking techniques, how to care for your oven, and much more.
Crank the heat, jostle the coals, and read on to rustle up the good stuff!
Once you get the hang of it, camp oven cooking will open up a new culinary world. Image: Campfire
Preparing Your Camp Oven
Preheat the camp oven on or in the main fire prior to cooking; if you place a cold camp oven on your coals, half the heat will be lost by heating up the oven as opposed to cooking your meal. A tripod is ideal for this task – or, if possible, sit the oven on top of a barbie plate in the flames. Don’t forget to heat the lid too!
When you’re ready to cook, prepare a bed of coals away from the main fire to place the camp oven atop of. If possible, scrape or dig a small hole the size of your oven and line with hot coals. This is not essential, but can be handy – especially if it’s windy.
Of course, by all means, leave the camp oven on your tripod above the flames – but cooking directly on the coals is recommended for both baking and roasting.
Prepare coals to cook your meal in your camp oven. Image: Mick Viller
Managing Environmental Factors
Keep in mind that the outside environment in which you are cooking will influence the temperature of your camp oven. Factors such as humidity, ambient temperature, and wind will all have an affect – and, unlike at home, you’re not able to adjust the heat with a quick turn of a knob!
A helpful tip here is when you’re cooking on a cold or windy day, lower your camp oven by digging a hole that’s just the right depth for the coals to nest in. Try not to open the lid too much, as the wind will blow and lessen the heat.
A cold night will affect your cooking. Image: Ozpig
How to Check the Temperature of Your Camp Oven
Gauging the heat required in relation to the volume of coals needed, and converting it all to traditional oven temperatures, can be tricky at first – but it’s actually quite simple. If you want to check how hot your camp oven is without a thermometre, here’s a super simple way to do so:
Tear off a strip of paper towel or newspaper and pop it inside the hot oven, on the top of a trivet to ensure you can accurately gauge the temperature. Take it out again and compare against the following:
- If the paper is cream or pale yellow, the oven is slow to moderate (180°C)
- If the paper is yellow to light brown in colour, the oven is moderate to hot (200°C)
- If the paper is dark brown, the oven is very hot (230°C)
- If the paper is black and smoking, the oven is too hot (250°C and over)
Converting the Coals Used to Oven Temperature:
Consider the Type of Wood
Bear in mind that different types of wood will burn hotter than others – so even though you should try to minimise the number of times you remove the lid, it is important to check every now and then to ensure it is not burning. As a general guide, check on dampers after 20 minutes and roasts after 30 minutes.
Roasting in a Camp Oven
- Place a well-oiled, seasoned, preheated oven on hot coals and add the meat.
- Cook the meat for 1.5-2.5 hours, depending on the size of the meat.
- Vegetables like potatoes, onions, pumpkin should be added to the oven for the final 45 minutes of cooking.
- Throughout the cooking process, check the temperature of the oven every 30 minutes or so. Add more hot coals if required.
Fill up your campsite with the delicious aroma of a roast. Image: OZtrail
Stewing in a Camp Oven
- The longer the cooking time for stews the more tender the meat will become.
- Cook over a slow to moderate oven for 1-3 hours or longer as required.
Baking in a Camp Oven
- When cooking cakes and slices in trays and cake tins, it is best to put a trivet in the bottom of the camp oven.
- This allows air to flow around inside the camp oven and provide even cooking.
Snowys’ resident camp cook Cam demonstrates how to create some kick-butt camp oven treats on Camp Cooking with Cam:
Caring for Your Camp Oven
It is essential to keep your cast iron camp oven in good condition for your next adventure by knowing how to clean it properly.
When cleaning your camp oven, always use warm water; cold water on a hot camp oven can cause damage. It’s also essential to oil your camp oven after cleaning, to prevent rust from developing. Although most camp ovens are fairly robust and durable, take care and avoid dropping them on hard surfaces. Keep it secure when transporting to and from the campsite by designating a special spot in your kit.
That’s all the trips and tricks we have up our sleeve about cooking in a camp oven! Ben and Lauren dig deeper into camp ovens in Episode 74, 78, and 103 of the Snowys Camping Show:
If you have any hacks for making the perfect meal in your camp oven, we would love to hear from you.
What’s your favourite camp oven recipe? Let us know in the comments!
![Morgan Wright](https://cdn.snowys.com.au/blog/wp-content/uploads/ultimatemember/6/profile_photo.jpg?1724531356)
After getting well off the beaten track with work, I’m now looking forward to some more relaxed touring with my wife. We’ll keep you posted from the road!
Great article. Just a question: the coal charts contradict each other. For example, for roasting the diagram shows 10 on bottom and 18 on top, but the chart says the opposite. I think the diagram is correct, but for us newbies, which is it?
Very informative article. However, I really wish someone had answered Chris’s question. It’s now August 2021 and I’ve just bought a cast iron camping oven and would like to know which is correct.
G’day Ellipop, thanks so much for flagging our missed reply to Chris and to both of you for pointing out the confusion in our chart! We’ll correct it and update the blog asap but in the meantime and as a general roasting rule, more heat should be on the bottom and less on top. The amount varies depending on weather/wind conditions and if you are using coals or heat beads. Coals generate more heat than beads but a little trial and error is needed either way. Go with 10 on top and 18 on the bottom for a starting point and if using beads, some recommend having a trivet underneath your camp oven to assist with air circulation. Hope that helps and thanks again!
G’day Chris, we’re really sorry for missing your question but thanks to Ellipop for bringing it to our attention! You’re right mate, our diagram is confusing and we’ll update it asap. In the meantime, work off the principle that heat rises so have more heat on the bottom and less on top. The amount varies depending on weather/wind conditions and if you are using coals, they generate more heat than beads but a little trial and error is needed either way. Start with 10 on top and 18 on the bottom and if using beads, some recommend having a trivet underneath your camp oven to assist with air circulation. Hope that helps mate and once again, we’re really sorry to miss your comment way back in November. Cheers
Going the first camp trip next week.. F it’s going to be hard not to have hot war + Toilet.
Ha! It’s not for everyone mate but here’s hoping you get the bug and this trip is the first of many! Have a quick read of these articles for a few showering and toileting tips 😉 Cheers
https://www.snowys.com.au/blog/toileting-in-the-bush/
https://www.snowys.com.au/blog/set-up-your-portable-camp-shower/
It is actually correct if you google it. Bear in mind means to remember.
G’day Luca – I’m afraid that’s wrong. It’s definitely ‘bear in mind’.
https://en.oxforddictionaries.com/usage/bare-or-bear
http://www.macmillandictionary.com/dictionary/british/bear-something-in-mind
Cheers, Paul
also heat beads are a more steady heat source when temperature needs to be constant
Great point Lindsay. A cheap and reliable extra to add to your camp cooking equipment.
Very good. Thanks Morgan. I will certainly pass this information to my husband… he thinks he’s a great camp oven cook, but I reckon he could be a helluva lot better!
Hi Amelia, you have misspelt the word ‘hell of a’. You said ‘…he could be a helluva lot better’. Just think next time mate thank you
Nothing wrong with spelling helluva like that Amelia, some idiots need to pull their heads in…
Dont forget to oil your camp oven after cleaning it to avoid pulling out a dirty, rusty old oven out of the shed for next time!
Great tips Morgan. Ive always had trouble getting the temperature right so the paper towel trick might come in handy next time I’m out.
Is that your picture with the fire? Where was it taken?
Thanks Pete – that was a great spot deep in the centre of WA at a place called Pinjin Station. Very wild country.
Safe travels.